Loons in Chapel Bay

Marie Wilson snapped this picture of baby Loons going for a ride on Chapel Bay on Lake Sylvia last week.

HAUMC Birding Weekend

The weather and the annual bird migration were in our favor May 3rd and 4th for the third annual Birders Weekend at Koinonia. The birders, led by Robert Janssen, Tom Sopoci and Lee Carlson identified 36 different species of birds on the beautiful lakeshore of Lake Sylvia and in the Wilderness 40. Mark your calendars for May 2nd and 3rd of 2009 to participate in the 2009 Birders Weekend.

Check out Dr Wendy's weekend reflections here.

Senior Class Retreat

Dear Koinonia Staff,

Thanks so much for the awesome job that all of you did in making us feel so comfortable and well fed. You have a beautiful facility and wonderful staff. We are very grateful.

Campus Ministry

From the Weekend of April 25th

Dear Koinonia Staff,
Thank you so much for all your help and support. We had such a good weekend - Food was great, chapel time was wonderful, and our people loved the walking trails and bonfire!

Blessings in Him

One Sure Sign of Spring!

Bloodroot appears in the wilderness 40.

Bradley Remembers Koinonia

Despite what a person might think, in winter it has never once been cold at Koinonia. Once upon a time, when I was in an exceptionally good mood, I proved this to myself definitively. I was in my sophomore year, and it was minus 10 degrees with no windchill outside, and I walked across the Koinonia grounds in just my swimming trunks to go visit my friends in the Columbine cabin. I honestly didn’t get cold, though it was a brisk walk. What I’m still curious about to this very day is whether my proven theory would hold up under those conditions with a moderate windchill.
But my friends down in the Columbine didn’t really understand why I did that. They thought maybe I wanted to gather them up for a late night sauna session down on the beach, but in the winter you normally take off your shirt only after the sauna warms up. When I realized that my arrival was being met with pure confusion instead of cheers of adoration and pats on the back, I decided to turn around and run back to the Sumac cabin.
Many times I’ve thought about what I did that day. Koinonia is probably the warmest place anyone will ever visit. That holds true even when it’s winter and ten below zero outside. Wherever you are on the grounds, there’s a fireplace nearby. I think of all those fires I’ve seen burning in all the many Koinonia firepits outside, and in all the fireplaces in each of the buildings with all those different people. Hot chocolate in hand of course. All those marshmallows, and graham crackers and sticky fingers that get wiped on pants and jackets and sometimes napkins; how many times have I rinsed off my hands in the lake? How many times have I jumped into the lake thereafter? The night swimming occasions are numberless. So are the conversations. And the games we’ve played, some of them at a table, or on a floorspace in one of the buildings, or on the lake, or the beach, or the upper field, or out among the trees in pitch darkness under the stars.
If a place can be loved, then Koinonia is one of those loved by many. Yet it will always be the people, not the place itself, who give the place its meaning.

Brad Williams

Wendy's Koinonia Reflections

Koinonia has always been a safe haven for me. From my earliest memory I can recall a strong feeling of trust and security while visiting Koinonia, be it in a discussion group on a church retreat, playing the hand bells at Music Camp, racing down the sledding hills at the New Year’s Eve retreats, or diving off the floating dock at Family Camps. The retreat center symbolizes a space where one can feel free to sing, dance, meditate, worship, explore and perform. Oh yes, and I do mean the historical talent shows. Not only have I watched guests of all ages perform at high levels of talent, but I have also witnessed grown women dance, while in their pajamas, to a recorded tape of their own voices singing “Jesus is a rock and he rolls my blues away” in what appeared to be synchronized steps. And one of these women happened to by my mother. But was I embarrassed or upset?? Oh no. Deep down I knew the audience was laughing WITH her. I kept this in mind as my sister, me and a handful of good friends lip-synched to The Sound of Music’s “So Long, Farewell” which I felt stole the show.

I have many fond memories at Koinonia, and the Carlson Conference Room stage where pure talent has shown its face, is one which clearly stands out. Bring on the shows!